Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:
5 encouraging articles to help you in your nature study adventure
September Study Grid and Printables for your nature journals
Fall Field Trip – printable notebook page
Flower clipart for nature journal or coloring
Show and Tell from OHC Participants
Recommended study links
I have attached the newsletter download link to the bottom of my blog feed so if you are a subscriber you will receive the link to the latest newsletter at the bottom of every post for the month of September. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can still subscribe and receive the newsletter link in the next post that comes to your email box. You can subscribe to my blog by filling in your email address in the subscription box on my sidebar.
Note: You can download your newsletter from the link in two ways:
If your link is clickable, right click the link and then “save link as” to save the file on your computer.
If the link is not clickable, cut and paste the link to your browser, open, and then save your newsletter to your computer.
If you need instructions on how to get started with the Outdoor Hour Challenge, you can read this entry for on the “Getting Started” tab at the top of my blog: How to Use the Outdoor Hour Challenge 2013-2014
I would study it and sketch it in my nature journal. But, I have lots of favorite bloggers who just might do something different! I invite you to get to know some of my blogging friends….this post is just a fun way to introduce you to them.
1. How about a spring cattail hunt? Find your own patch of cattails and complete some observations using the Handbook of Nature Study. There is even a freeSeasonal Cattail Notebook Pageto print!
2. Look for signs of spring in your part of the world. What better way to enjoy the early spring time outdoors? Use the suggestions in the challenge and then print the Signs of Spring notebook pagefor your nature journal.
3. One of the most popular “wildflower” challenges of all time is the Dandelion Challenge from the Spring Series! Everyone loves a good dandelion study and with this commonly found plant your family can enjoy a little flower study too!
4. Here is one that all of you gardeners will enjoy…earthworms! We love digging down into the fresh spring soil and that means lots of earthworms. My boys loved to go on an earthworm hunt while I pulled a few weeds in the garden boxes.
5. Everyone has weather….you can all take some early spring weather observations no matter if there is snow on the ground or you are experiencing rain showers or you have blue skies and white puffy clouds. Print a weather notebook page and have some fun outside recording your weather and observations.
There are lots more spring nature study ideas on the Spring Tab at the top of my blog. Pick one and enjoy a few minutes outdoors this week. Have you seen some signs of spring in your neighborhood?
Have you started off this month thinking that you can’t face a month long study of mushrooms, moss, and lichen? Did you print the newsletter and look at the grids and wonder how your could possibly find anything interesting to occupy you for this month’s grid study? I don’t think you are alone…in fact, a number of years ago I might have felt the same way too.
Honestly, this month and next month are the months that I have sort of dreaded preparing for the monthly challenges. Both this month’s topic and next month’s topic of reptiles and amphibians are not easy ones for many of us girl types.
But, I would like to encourage you with yesterday’s family walk to the river where we found an abundance of moss and lichen to get our interest and our powers of observation going. Once we started looking for moss and lichen, we saw it everywhere!
The shapes, patterns, colors, and textures were all so different and interesting. There was moss on rocks and tree bark and lichen on riches in varying colors. It made our hike to the river and back a delight.
My best advice is to give it a try by printing out the Mushroom, Lichen, and Moss Grid and bookmark. Share it with your children and then follow along each Friday with the suggested study, preparation, and then activities. I almost guarantee that you will learn something interesting.
Who knows? You may even end up enjoying this month’s study and become fascinated with this topic like I have over the years.
Here is a list of the twelve topics that we are covering this year on the Handbook of Nature Study.
This is our fifth year of participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count in our Northern California home. It is the highlight of our February nature study and has led to our becoming better birders every year.
Things We Learn With The Great Backyard Bird Count
Learning to identify our backyard birds-an obvious skill that comes directly from recording our observations.
Refining our skills as observers-knowing the difference between male and female specimens, subtle differences between species like the House finch and the Pine siskin.
Careful record keeping-counting and tallying each bird for the best data to share with the GBBC
Better at understanding changes over time-comparing numbers of birds from year to year, anticipating migratory birds, knowing a new bird
Learning to use our binoculars better and to take better bird photos
Becoming part of an online birding community-reading other family’s experiences and lists, seeing their photos
Value of contributing to a citizen science project- realizing our small part in this really important big project as a partner with Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Our2013 List of Birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count
Western Scrub Jay 2
Oak Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Spotted Towhee1
White-crowned Sparrow 4
Dark Eyed Junco 6
House Finch 15
House Sparrow 4
California Towhee 1
American Robin 20
Anna’s Hummingbird 2
Mourning Dove 4
Lesser Goldfinches 2
Northern mockingbird 1
Steller’s Jay 1
Pine Siskin 4
Not the impressive numbers we usually have and a few of our old favorites are missing like the woodpeckers and flickers and Cedar waxwings. We did have two new birds this year which was a thrill. The Steller’s jay and the Pine siskin are newcomers to our GBBC list.
I of course spent lots of time running from window to window to try to capture some of our backyard bird visitors….this is normal behavior from me at all times but especially during the GBBC. But this time I didn’t get an really super images so I will indulge you with my Mourning dove and California towhee….some of our regular year-round residents.
Did you count birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count?
Feel free to share your GBBC entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival this month or you can leave a comment here in this entry with the most exciting or interesting bird you saw during the GBBC.
Don’t forget that everyone who enters the OHC Carnival this month is entered to win a DVD from Crowe’s Nest Media – either the Monarch Butterfly or the Backyard Bird DVD! They are both wonderful resources for your nature study that your children will want to watch over and over again.
Our February Blog Sponsor….Thanks to the Crowe Family for providing such wonderful DVD’s and study guides for our science and nature study!
“Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest! Days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God. Nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way who gains the blessings of one mountain day; whatever his fate, long life, short life, stormy or calm, he is rich forever.” My First Summer in the Sierra, 1911
All who have enjoyed a visit to Yosemite National Park owe a debt of gratitude to John Muir and his work in preserving this magnificent place for us to explore, to find refreshment in its beauty, and to feel the inspiring spirit of this one of a kind place on earth.
In my up-coming series from Yosemite I will be sharing some of my magical moments….once in each season, sharing with words and hopefully video. The first visit will be coming quickly in April with a visit to the trees and birds of this park that John Muir loved so much.
Please feel free to subscribe to my blog and receive my free monthly newsletter packed with nature study ideas, printables, and articles to inspire your family to be outdoors.
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I love reading old nature study books on Google Books. They are so different than the nature books we read today and most of what I read is aimed at teachers so the slant is a little different as well. Here is a quote I just knew would make the blog at some point and today is the day.
“But true science work does not stop with mere seeing, hearing, or feeling; it not only furnishes a mental picture as a basis for reasoning, but it includes an interpretation of what has been received through the senses. A child and a goat may see the same thing, with the advantage of vision on the side of the goat; but the latter has no power to interpret what he sees, and is, therefore, essentially non-scientific.” Nature Study for the Common Schools, 1894
Here are the hints given in this book on how to make true observations happen in nature study (or really any science-related subject).
Nature Study and Direct Observation
1. Have a reason clearly in mind for giving every lesson: How does this lesson (or challenge or activity) relate to what the child already knows? Strive for relationships.
2. Have a reason clearly in mind for the way in which the lesson is presented: How does this lesson allow for personal learning styles? Can you present the lesson (or challenge) in a way that grabs the attention of the child and their way of thinking?
3. Plan only for such work as the pupils can do for themselves, or, at least, take the leading part in doing: Don’t lecture with many words, don’t do the narrating, let the child lead the challenge.
4. Place the child directly in contact with nature under normal conditions: This is the ideal way for children to learn about nature so seek to make opportunities for this to happen as much as possible.
5. Begin with something which is really a part of the pupil’s experience: Let them narrate back what they discover without telling them too much. Look back through past nature journal entries or photos to remind the child of what you have already learned.
6. Accept, as good, only such results as indicate honesty of purpose and growth of mind: Allow for the child to experience and then relate exactly what they learned from any activity. Do not require a “right” answer.
7. Be faithful, and bide your time: Sometimes children are not interested in the topic under study, but over time they may develop an interest if you allow for multiple exposures.
Ranger Rick Jr. Magazine published by the National Wildlife Federation is a new magazine written to entertain and inform children between the ages of 3-7. This attractive magazine is a combination of story-telling and fact giving, all presented along with colorful images. Our family has long read and enjoyed the other magazines available from the National Wildlife Federation and Ranger Rick Jr. lives up to their high standards. In fact, National Wildlife magazine is one of my favorite nature-related magazines and it sits on my living room coffee table as I type this review.
When the opportunity came for me to review Ranger Rick Jr. magazine, I didn’t hesitate. National Wildlife offered both the magazine and the new iPad app Ranger Rick Appventures – Lions which works together to provide early readers with a way to learn more about animals. I am partnering with Tricia at The Curriculum Choice on this review-click over to see how her family enjoyed the iPad app!
My children loved learning about animals from an early age and this new magazine nurtures a curiosity about the animals we see in our own neighborhoods as well as animals from around the world. You can preview the article A Lion’s Tale online. The easy to read text is perfect for younger animal lovers to read with a little help from mom and dad. I found my teens paging through this colorful magazine and I am going to be keeping it on the shelf as a reference for drawing projects. I know if I had little ones they would use these magazines as sources of images to cut out and put into journals and reports.
Suggestions for getting outdoors with your children!
My favorite page in the whole magazine is a regular feature that is called, Green Time. This would be perfect for using during your outdoor time each week as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. In my review issue, the subject for Green Time isevergreens. The prompts are much like my grid study printables, giving you tasks to do and things to look for outside. I love this feature!
Each issue has a removable poster
Here are some facts that may interest you:
There is no advertising in Ranger Rick Jr. magazine! Love that!
36 full color pages with a variety of activities- stories, puzzles, crafts(the review issue includes instructions for a lion mask)
Large images of animals with basic facts (save these for future nature journal entries)
Available for the Nook
Replaces the previously title magazines: Big Backyard and Wild Animal Baby
I am always looking for ways to share a love of creation with my friends and readers….this would be a perfect gift for any young ones you have in your life.
I know when I was a child, getting something in the mail was the highlight of my month!
Engaging stories based on familiar wildlife
I highly recommend Ranger Rick Jr. magazine for your family…big paws up this month for a new magazine sure to delight and nurture the nature lovers in your life.
I love making goals and then seeing them achieved…but honestly, I love the journey as much as the achievement. Especially when it comes to nature study, always having a goal or focus helps make things happen. The Outdoor Hour Challenge is really just a way of breaking nature study goals down into weekly steps. Each challenge gives us a way to focus for a few minutes with our children on something that could easily be skipped if we aren’t careful.
This year I feel a shift is coming in our family’s nature study. I am for the first time making my own personal nature study goals and inviting any of my family members along with me when they have time and an interest. I find that as I become involved in a particular area of nature study that my family naturally falls in line with that interest and in the process of supporting my nature study, they learn something as well. (Sneaky but it works.)
Would you like to see my personal nature study goals for 2013? Some are related to the Outdoor Hour Challenges we will be completing together here on the blog and some are more specialized to my area of the world. Feel free to make your own list and you might like to do what I am doing, print out a copy of the goals and insert them in the front of your nature journal. I am also taking each goal and actually scheduling in some dates in my planner, in pencil of course just so I be flexible as the opportunities arise.
Barb’s Nature Study Goals for 2013
Learn about ten new birds, including nature journal entries and learning their calls.
Learn about five new trees in my local area.
Learn about five scrubs that I see along my walking trail or our favorite hiking trail.
Take four new hikes. (These are tentatively planned in my planner along with maps.)
Visit Yosemite in all four seasons and focus on some aspect of nature each time:
Spring – trees/birds
Summer – wildflowers/waterfalls
Autumn – mammals
Winter – rocks
I am not sure if I will stick to the topics listed above or allow each trip to unfold some aspect of nature to learn about. I am also going to invite some friends along with me, sharing my love for this awesome place with people who have never been there even though we live just a few hours away.
Now for the big goal that I will need help from my family in achieving. I am challenging myself to take on a rock related nature study project which will hopefully teach me new skills and lead to some adventures. My husband and I are going to try to collect all fifteen rocks discussed in the Rocks, Fossils and Arrowheads (Take-Along Guides). After going over each rock in the book, we searched online for places that we could realistically find each specimen. It will mean taking a few trips to new places and finding ways that we can legally collect each one. Several of the rocks we have access to on a daily basis like granite and slate but even for these specimens I want to make a proper display and journal entry. We just came up with this idea a few days ago and already our wheels are turning, plans are being made and our hopes are high that we can achieve our goal.
I am going to be taking the year of 2013 and trying to use far less plastic than we have been as a family. I am slowly going to be adding new routines and habits that will support a lifestyle that will use less disposable plastic. I will be sharing my journey.
I am looking forward to what we will experience and learn this year as we continue our journey learning about the wonderful awe-inspiring creations we have all around us.
If you had to pick one nature study related goal this year, what would it be?
Leave me a comment with your goal and perhaps I can work some of your ideas into up-coming Outdoor Hour Challenges or write posts with suggestions on how to achieve your goals.
I want to thank my loyal readers who nominated and voted for me in the 2012 Homeschool Blog Awards. I feel the same way that I did last year about the award….this is truly a community award to all those who participate each month in the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival, sharing your experiences and inspiring me to keep going with this blog.
This will be my last year as a homeschooler so next year this award will go to one of my readers, I just know it. Keep sharing your nature study experiences and encouraging other families to get outside. No matter what the future holds for this blog, the newsletter, and the Outdoor Hour Challenge, I know that all we have done together is testament to the power of spending just a few minutes outside each week.
Thank you again for your support and encouragement.
Check the up coming newsletter for a special offer as my additional way of thanking you.
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